Depth charge arbor



' April 16, 1946. w. E. PATRICK, JR 2,398,445

' DEPTH C ARGE ARBOR Filed May 19, 1942 Patented Apr. 16, 1946 S TESPATENT (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30,1928; 370 0. G. 757) This invention relates to improvements in 0111-Claims.

nance, and more specifically, to an arbor for supporting an explosivecontainer such as a depth charge, so that the depth charge may be projected from a gun. The purpose of projecting depth charges from guns isto increase the area overwhich they may be distributed in attacking anenemy vessel, thus supplementing the charges which are dropped from therelease tracks mounted at the stern of the vessel.

Since the attachment of the depth charge to its arbor may, in general,be deferred to a time immediately prior to the actual use of the depthcharge, the primary consideration herein is to enable the depth chargeto be attached to its arbor in a simple and expeditious manner. To thisend, a construction has been devised whereing it becomes readilypossible, although not imperative, to insert the arbor stem into thebarrel of the gun and thereupon lower the depth charge container uponthe saddle or tray. An encircling chain or equivalent circumferentialbinder is then anchored by a quick manual operation, which operationdoes not involve the need or use of an auxiliary implement of any sort.With this preamble in mind the objects ofthe invention may be readilunderstood.

One object of this invention is to enable a depth charge container to besecured to its arbor in a simple and expeditious manner, so that thedepth charge may be projected from a gun.

Another object of the invention is to enable the depth charge containerto be secured to its arbor so that the binding pressure may becentralized. to the girth of the container with respect to the arborstem, and thereby afford a connection of maximum stability.

A further object of the invention is to enable the depth chargecontainer to be secured to its arbor by a manual operation wherein it isunnecessary to utilize a wrench or equivalent auxiliary implement, whichimplement might, at a time of urgency, become lost or improperlyhandled.

Still another object is to provide an attaching means of the characterstated which will maintain its anchorage and persist in its holdingfunction even though inadvertently loosened to some extent.

A still further object is to prevent the arbor stem from turning in thegun barrel while placing the depth charge container in the tray andwhile tightening the securing means.

Yet another object of the invention is to embody a novel structuralfeature in the arbor by means of which the necessity is avoided ofspecially shaping an end of the arbor to conform to the arcuate contourof the tray prior to making the connection.

Still further objects, advantages, and improvements will be apparentfrom the following de-- scription of the invention taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an arbor constructed in accordance withthe invention, a depth charge container being shown secured in placethereon.

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of a portionof the arbor,hereinafter referred to, in-place in the barrel of a Y-gun. I

Fig. 3 is an elevation illustrating the details of Fig. 6 is a detailcross section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 2'. Y

In carrying out the invention the arbor, generallydesignated at l,comprises the tray 2 and an integrally connected hollow-stem 3, which isclosed at its lower end. A chain 4,-or a suitable flexible equivalentthereof, is permanently attached at one of its ends to a portion of thetray.

The tray 2 is arcuate in cross section in order to properly-cradle thecylindrical container 5 of the depth charge. This depth charge consistsof a high explosive as is commonly known, and neither it nor itsdetonator, per se, form any part of this invention. The tray 2 is aslong as the container 5, and has integrallyformed flanges 6 ateach endthereof. These flanges prevent Ion-- gitudinal displacement of the depthcharge relative to the tray. -At most, these flanges are lightlyengageable by the chines 1 of the container and do not exercise anygripping function whatsoever.

. A centrally situated boss 8 is formed on the. convex side of .the tray2 during fabrication therea of. The bottom 9 of this boss is made flatand at right angles to the axis of the stem 3. These factors simplifythe connection of the stem 3 to the tray. The end of the stem is cutsquare with respect to its axis and does not need to be specially shapedto fit the arcuate contour of the tray as would be the case if such bosswere not provided.

The aforesaid connection is made by welding at H, the outer edge of thestem desirably being beveled at I2 to form part of a recess for thewelding" substance.

2 V I .2,39s,445

its occupancy in a notch (Figure 2) in the muzzle i I 5. Said projectionform a temporary key which prevents the arbor stem 3 from turning in thegun barrel is while the container 5 is" being placed in the tray 2.

The end of the extension I 8 is slotted at 2| (Figure 6). sicn l8 so asto partly overlap the slotthereby making room for the first loose link23 at one end of the chain A bearing block 24, welded or otherwise madeintegral with that side :of the tray 2 diametrically oppositefromthe-strap l1. provides the anchorage for the other end of the chain.Said end is distinguished by a U-shaped link 25 (Figure 3) to which oneend of an adjusting stud 2G is Welded, I

A securing nut 21' is carried by the threaded end 23 of the stud Suchnutincludes terminal collar 29 (Figure 4) which is of less diametralsize than both the main body of the nut and its contiguous beveledannular shoulder- 3!]. The collar 29 and shoulder 30 are adapted toloosely occupya cavity 3| (Figure 3) in the front face of the bearingblock. The collar 29 is intended to be confined in the cavity by. lugs32 whichcon front each other across an opening 33.

Said opening is large enough to admit the stud 26 when introducedthereinto from the. front of the bearing block, but too small to releasethe collar when the securing nut 21' is turned down. The lu s 32.therefore, confine thesecuring nut 2! at the collar 29, and from a briefinspection of Figure 4. it will be readily seen that; such'confinementwill exist even though the securinginut may have a limited looseconnection with its anchora e in the bearing block 24. The cavity 3! ofthe latter has a back wall formation 34 (Figure 4) to match the contourof the adj ac'ent part of the nut 21. Said formation, therefore,provides a mount on which the nut 21 swings when turning it home on thestud 26 totighten the chain 4. During this time the nut is held confinedin the cavity 3| by the partial encirclement of the collar 29 by theconfronting lugs 32.

One manner of assembling the arbor l and the depth charge container 5 isto insert the stem 3 into the bore of the gun barrel and then place thecontainer 5 in the tray 2; Careshould be taken to interconnect theprojection!!! and notch 29 in the ,Y-gunbarrel .(Figure 2)' sothat thearbor will not be able to turn and thereby possibly drop the container.This method of assemblin has the advantage of avoiding the necessity oflifting the total weight .of the depth charge and arbor a distance inexcess of the length of the stem 3 when loading the gun. Having insertedthestem 3 into thegun barrel and whilestill supporting the depth chargecontainer from the hoisting device, the chain '4 is brought-around andanchored at the bearing block 24. The chain is tightened by manuallyturning the nut 21. Since-no tools of any kind are required for thispurpose there is never any danger ofthe securing operation beinginterrupted, as: would be the situation if it was necessary to use atool and the tool was lost or inexpertly used.

It will be observed that in the preferred embodiment the attaching means4 is applied to the available girth of the container 5 in a placelocated centrally of the length of the container. The binding pressureis thus distributed throughout the entire circumference of the containerand since the pressure is centralized over the adjacent end of the stem3, it follows that the connection will be of maximum stability. The

. flanges 6 are merely limiting lugs in respect to A link 22 is weldedonto the extenthe container 5, purposely avoiding a grip or interlock ofany sort, with the chines 1. Such a grip should not be relied upon tohold the depth charge container and arbor in connection, because theweight of the depth charge will tend to deform the flanges and thus openthe possibility of the container falling away. A limited loosening ofthe instant attaching means 4 cannot have the same result since under noordinary circumstance would the nut 21'be permitted to be so loose as topermit the escape of its collar 29 from the confines of the cavity 3|.

A second method of assembling the depth charge container! and arbor l isto cradle the container in the tray 2 prior to introducing the stem 3into the gun barrel. The chain 4 is applied and secured as previouslydescribed, whereupon the assemblage is hoisted high enough to permitdropping the stem 3 into the gun barrel.

While the invention has been described with reference to certainpreferred examples thereof which give satisfactory results, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains,after understanding the invention, that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, and it is my intention, therefore, to cover in theappended claims all such changes and modifications.

The invention herein described may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of v the United States of America for governmentalpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1., A depth charge arbor having a stem adapted to be inserted in a gunbarrel, a tray secured to one end of said stem, said tray being adaptedto cradle a depth charge container, flexible attaching means adapted toembrace the container having one end connected to one side of the tray,a securing. nut fixed to the other end of the flexible attaching means,a bearing block secured to the opposite side of the tray, said securingnut and said bearing block being interconnectible to produce a bindingpressure of the attaching means and tray circumferentially of thecontainer.

2.. A depth charge arbor having a stem adapted to be inserted in a gunbarrel, a tray secured to one end of said stem, said tray being adaptedto cradle a depthcharge container, flexible attaching means adapted toembrace the container having' one end connected to one side of the tray,a securing nut fixed to the other end of the flex ible attaching means,a bearing block secured to the'opposite side of the tray, said securingnut and said bearing block being interconnectible to produce a bindingpressure of the attaching means and tray circumierentially of the contane andrmcans embodied in the securing nut and bearing block allowing alimited looseness of the securing nut without allowing its disconnectionfrom the bearing block.

3. A depth charge arbor having a stem adapted to be inserted in a gunbarrel, a tray secured to one end of said stem, said tray being adaptedto cradle a depth charge container, flexible attaching means connectedat one of its ends to one side of the tray and adapted to be placedaround the container, a stud carried by the other end of the flexibleattaching means, a securing nut adjustable along said stud andterminating in a collar and shoulder of greater diametral size than thestud, a bearing block carried by the other side of the tray and having acavity occupied by the collar and shoulder thereby to connect said otherend of the attaching means to the tray, and a pair of lugs'forming partsof the bearing block partially demarcating the cavity and being inconfronting relationship to define an opening slightly Wider than thestud but of less width than the collar and shoulder.

4. An arbor having a tray adapted to support a depth charge containerand a stem secured to the tray adapted to be inserted in the barrel of agun, flexible attaching means adapted to surround said container andbeing connected at one of its ends to one side of the tray, and a strapto which the other end of said attaching means is connected, said strapbeing located on the other side of the tray and having a projectionadapted to prevent turning of the stem when the stem is in the gunbarrel.

5. A depth charge arbor having a stem adapted to be inserted in a gunbarrel, a tray secured to one end of said stem, said tray being adaptedto cradle a depth charge container and having flanges at its ends forlimiting movement of the container, flexible attaching means adapted toengage the available girth of the container, one end of said means beingfixedly connected to one side of the tray contiguously to and in linewith the stem, and anchoring means for adjustably connecting the otherend of said attaching means to the opposite side of the tray alsocontiguously to and in line with the stem, said anchoring means beingoperable to cause the tray and attaching means to exercise acircumferential binding pressure upon the container at a place mediallyof its ends.

WILLIAM E. PATRICK, JR.

